as in optimistically
in a positive or optimistic manner
They waited hopefully for the doctor to update them on their friend's condition. When the sun appeared, we asked hopefully if everyone remembered to bring sunblock.
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Recent Examples of hopefully
Starting next weekend, Denver will be hosting NFL playoff games — two of them, hopefully — for the first time since January 2016, when Peyton Manning, Von Miller and The No Fly Zone marched the Broncos to Super Bowl 50.
—
Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 7 Jan. 2026
In Stranger Things 5, set in the fall of 1987, the teens (and the handful of their parents interested in their whereabouts) set out to kill Vecna — and hopefully not get killed themselves.
—Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 5 Jan. 2026
Go for a stroll on the water line at night or early morning and hopefully tracks will present themselves, flipper marks and a solid line for the shell, like hieroglyphs.
—Eric Barton, Sun Sentinel, 4 Jan. 2026
And hopefully the administration will be a good partner in that endeavor.
—Obed Manuel, NPR, 5 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hopefully
Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 7 Jan. 2026
In Stranger Things 5, set in the fall of 1987, the teens (and the handful of their parents interested in their whereabouts) set out to kill Vecna — and hopefully not get killed themselves.
—Tony Maglio, HollywoodReporter, 5 Jan. 2026
Go for a stroll on the water line at night or early morning and hopefully tracks will present themselves, flipper marks and a solid line for the shell, like hieroglyphs.
—Eric Barton, Sun Sentinel, 4 Jan. 2026
And hopefully the administration will be a good partner in that endeavor.
—Obed Manuel, NPR, 5 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for hopefully
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hopefully
Adverb
-
Our political leaders optimistically crow about the state’s future.—
Wayne Winegarden,
Oc Register,
4 Jan. 2026
-
Be optimistically realistic, as much as possible.—
Tarot.com,
New York Daily News,
3 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
My child attended daycare and summer programs at Pillsbury United Communities center just four blocks away, where a multiracial cohort of kids happily play through the winter, swishing around in bulky jackets and snow pants, bouncing towards their parents.—
Bao Phi,
Time,
13 Jan. 2026
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The pair chatted before Cooper asked DiCaprio to take a photo with him, and DiCaprio happily obliged.—
Rebecca Ford,
Vanity Fair,
12 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
With this introduction of a hapless protagonist not entirely managing to live her best life, Brett Haley‘s film cheerfully speaks both the literary and cinematic language of romantic comedy — and won’t seek to subvert or elevate it in the two hours that follow.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
8 Jan. 2026
-
Unable to roll the map out, its creators cheerfully realize that the country itself can serve as its own map.—
Adam Gopnik,
New Yorker,
4 Jan. 2026
Adverb
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The classically louche yet confidently glitzy Golden Globes energy had been missing for much of the night until Roberts, a true movie star who couldn’t care less, came onstage to present the award for Best Musical or Comedy.—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
12 Jan. 2026
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Maybe this is as close as critics and artists are ever likely to ever get — sitting at different tables in the same oversized pan-Asian restaurant in front of a giant Quan Yin statue that Adrien Brody so confidently misidentified as Shiva last year.—
David Ehrlich,
IndieWire,
9 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
Consider Virginia McLaurin, who joyfully danced with the Obamas at age 106 and later supported youth mentoring, or Edith Renfrow Smith, now 110, whose advocacy for education continues to inspire.—
Norman B. Gildin,
Sun Sentinel,
6 Jan. 2026
-
Warming up, Smith throws back his head and belts Bieber lyrics, joyfully off-key.—
Sam Kestenbaum,
Vulture,
2 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
On December 18, 2025, the North Carolina Chief Medical Examiner’s Office, with assistance from the North Carolina SBI Crime Lab, positively identified the remains as Bethany Brown.—
Mark Price
January 7,
Charlotte Observer,
7 Jan. 2026
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After starting positively under Dyche, Forest have lost their past four games, leaving them four points above West Ham in 17th.—
Roshane Thomas,
New York Times,
6 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
Abu Daqqa shows videos set to music of him riding his sleek, silver and black machine, circling fast and joyously in the waves, testing its speed and agility.—
NPR,
NPR,
24 Nov. 2025
-
They are felt as they are composed, painfully, joyously, cellularly—and they are designed for other biological beings to experience, to connect with, to be animated, provoked and moved by.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Nov. 2025
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Hopefully
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Cite this Entry
“Hopefully.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hopefully. Accessed 15 Jan. 2026.
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